


cherish.

by lumieres (irlsugawara)



Series: and with this, we shall seek refuge. [1]
Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: anxiety tw, death mention, post true ending spoilers, spoilers in general tbh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-20
Updated: 2021-01-20
Packaged: 2021-03-12 11:00:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28884273
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/irlsugawara/pseuds/lumieres
Summary: two years later and you wonder if you deserve this: the loving smiles of your friends and the support from your mother. two years later, you grow and live on.
Relationships: Kel & Sunny (OMORI), Kel/Sunny (OMORI)
Series: and with this, we shall seek refuge. [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2133000
Comments: 23
Kudos: 145





	cherish.

**Author's Note:**

> hellooo, omori fandom! we are small... but mighty! 
> 
> thank you for clicking on this fic, i'm really bad at summaries but hopefully, you guys enjoy this 5k fic of sunny's thoughts and some unexpected suntan along the way. <3
> 
> a lil note: sunny & the kiddos are 18/19 + hero is around 22ish.

two years later on a specific date, in which the sun would begin to cascade downwards behind the city skyscrapers, would mark mari’s sixth year of being away from sunny. he clutches the near-wilted bouquet of flowers in his hand then places it in a clear vase full of fresh water, eyes closing but not completely succumbing to the darkness his lids would provide to him. no, despite having overcome his fears and his trauma, sunny cannot completely close his eyes for fear of omori coming back, for fear of the redevelopment of the white space despite it having been destroyed by his strong will and determination. the boy sighs, fingertips trailing over the petals before stepping back and trudging his feet up the stairs to head to his room. dangerous it is when sunny is all left alone in the four walls of his room and only the slight scattering of sunlight to give him company, for it is around this time and this place that sunny can hardly trust himself. they had moved after he had been discharged from the hospital (after sunny had spilled out his heart about the truth of the night he harbored what felt like the world’s heaviest secret) and it was long and silent but his heart felt lighter (and when he looked into the reflection of the car window, he could no longer see SOMETHING). 

sunny finds that he’s a bit taller now, having been able to reach the top of the door frame easily as he breezes into his relatively cool room and laying down on his bed, toes only barely reaching the edge of his bed. dull eyes, with a gentle light in them, skate to where his violin case rests, dust-free and well-kept. he wonders for a brief moment if he should pick it up to practice a bit but deems he’s too tired to do any such thing. he doesn’t close his eyes, not really, but he looks at the ceiling and thinks back to when he was sixteen, just shy of seventeen, and in the hospital with bandages looping around his skull, covering one eye which had rendered him half-blind. he remembers waking up and sobbing on the bed, his entire body aching belatedly from the inner struggles he held for four years and his mind seeking relief from the erasure of white space along with omori. sunny had felt his conscience clear then and he knew that it had been time to tell them the truth of that night.

that mari did not kill herself. 

that she loved them all to the end (and still does). 

two palms come up to rub harshly at his eyes as his knees begin to bend, his body curling up. despite it being six years, it genuinely feels as if mari had passed but only a year ago. perhaps, due to his clear mind, he finally allows himself to feel and to open his eyes to the horrors and to accept everything for what it is. he remembers when he had opened the door to basil’s hospital room, lips chapped and eyes seeking for reassurance, for a semblance of validation. he remembers how kel’s eyes had lit up, how hero had broken out into a huge smile, and how aubrey wiped at her eyes while looking away angrily. relief had flooded his body and sunny couldn’t help the tears that began to bubble down his cheek, wetting it enough for the four years of silent grief he had put himself through. 

( “i have something to tell you guys,” he starts out, hospital slippers shuffling forward and then coming to an immediate halt. he trusts them, he knows they will listen to him. but he’s still afraid, albeit minutely.

“sunny, it can wait until later… you’re not well. you should be resting, yeah?” hero’s eyes are a warm chocolate hue as if embracing him just from gaze alone. sunny shakes his head adamantly, and he quiets, understanding the importance of the issue at hand. sunny isn’t so scared anymore but he can’t look at hero’s kind eyes. he can’t look at aubrey’s vulnerable stare. he can’t look at kel’s everlasting understanding smile. sunny opts to look at a sleeping basil, wondering if the boy is truly asleep or if he’s feigning it. he swears he sees a finger twitch. 

his own fingers curl into a tiny fist, trembling out of minor fear but he promised himself to rid himself of SOMETHING, to move onwards. he opens his mouth. “the… the night mari died…” by the time he finishes, he realizes everyone is blurry and his cheeks are hot; tears run like streams down his cheek and he feels his knees go weak, causing him to crumble onto the floor. he cannot stop the overflow of emotion that rushes through him like a severe current in his tiny body and no one comes to help him— at least, not for a few minutes. 

hero steps forward first and sunny’s afraid he might yell at him or he might push him out but he doesn’t. instead, hero sits in front of sunny and pulls the younger boy into a tight hug, nothing being said as tears soaked into sunny’s hospital gown. maybe, in what feels like the longest time ever, sunny feels the warmth of an older sibling wash away his fears and wipe away his tears. he manages to look at hero, who’s smiling at him sullenly and thumbing at his cheek to flick the tears away. “sunny…” it looks hard for hero to speak but aubrey beats him to it. she’s angry and sunny knows it, so he braces himself for her punch.

it doesn’t come and instead, she shoves at sunny’s shoulder roughly, breaking him away from hero, who looks shocked. “you… you hid this away? for how long, sunny? for four freakin’ years? you _hid_ this away from us and you thought you would be okay not telling any of us this?!” her trembling hands grip at the collar of his hospital gown, rage mixed with grief swirling in her eyes. sunny distantly hears kel yell her name, notices a tanned hand grab at her pale one and tells her to _let him go_ but she shakes kel off, staring directly into sunny’s watering eyes. they both stare for a while before she lets out an exhale so deep that it causes her hand to slip from his garment. aubrey’s vulnerable again, her pink hair framing her thin visage. “you can’t- i would’ve believed you, sunny. we were best friends. _we_ would’ve believed you. you can’t be stupid and hide stuff from us like this. how long have you been afraid for? why… why didn’t you just _trust_ us?” 

and she cries too now, openly weeping in front of sunny as kel stays a step behind, fixating sunny with a helpless look in his eye. sunny’s brows pinch a little before he locks his gaze with his best friend who only smiles, swallows thickly, and leans forward to tug him into a tight hug. kel whispers in his ear: “i trust you, sunny. it’s okay now, okay? it’s okay.”)

as if on cue, his cellphone begins to ring a jovial, arcade-like jingle and sunny picks it up with a warm smile, even though the caller can’t see it. “hey kel,” he murmurs into the phone, his one eye blinking up at the ceiling before he sits up with a stretch. 

“sunny!” the person in question’s voice booms into his ear excitedly and sunny can almost picture the other moving around his room animatedly. “hey, so. i got into the same college hero’s in, which is crazy, right? but get this- their basketball team is totally awesome! hero said i could play with them for a bit and they really liked how i played so they asked me to come to tryouts when they hold them.” a pause for a breath, which makes sunny smile fondly. “anyway, i’m going to join tryouts and i’m pretty stoked for it. oh, yeah! mom told me that she heard from your mom that you got accepted into that one super prestigious music school? congrats!”

the teenager couldn’t help but laugh slightly into the phone at kel’s neverending boisterousness but he nods anyway, then lets out an audible affirmation. “yeah, i… wasn’t sure if i should or if i would but they really liked my portfolio, i guess. i’ve been going to some recitals too but not a lot. mom doesn’t want to stress me out… is what she says.” a brief laugh is shared between the teens before sunny continues on. “i’ve been preparing for all of that anyway. it’s a bit far from where we live now. you’re going to be living with hero now, huh?”

kel groans at the question, the sound of it clear yet staticky at the same time. “yeah… but it’s, like, not bad! i guess it’s nice to be living with him? he’s a pretty good older brother anyway and he knows more about the college and the college town than i do so… no complaints, really. but wait until i call you once i’m there and he’s scared of a spider.” the laughter is louder this time and sunny can’t help the wide smile that spreads on his visage at the sound of it. “hey, but, uh… seriously. congrats, sunny. you were working really hard towards it and i- i know it wasn’t easy… after, uh, everything. so, i’m really proud of you _and_ i want you to come back to town so we can celebrate together. i already asked your mom and she’s okay with you coming tomorrow before you shut me down, by the way.” sunny opens his mouth to object anyway but kel beats him to it again. “we also set up a pillow fort for you too. no objections. not hearing it. see you tomorrow, sunny! bye!” 

the _bzzzt_ of the line going dead has sunny in awe, but he rolls his eyes with a smile anyway, leaning back on one arm as he uses one hand to text kel that he’ll see him tomorrow. 

  
  
  
  


the drive back to faraway town almost brings back unwanted memories, as it seems as if nothing had changed in the least— no new buildings, the park is the same as always (bustling with children and the elderly and a patch of grass pressed down to the soil near the entrance of their secret hideout), the hub where those small shops are stays unchanged, the rows of houses pressed to one another like a glue coming undone. sunny peers out of the window when they turn into a street that causes the breath in his throat to still, where his chest restricts despite the peace he had come to fall in love with after years of confessing to his ill, unfortunate crime. his old house stands next to kel’s, untouched and undisturbed like webs in the corner of unused rooms. he tears his gaze away and rolls up to the sidewalk, turning the car off and switching positions with his mother, who will drive back to their new house. 

sunny hesitates, fingers slow to leave the cold metal of the car he’ll soon inherit. his mother gazes at him fondly and touches his arm with warm fingertips, tells him to go and have fun with her eyes and her loving smile. occasionally, sunny will think he does not deserve to be smiled at as such but he takes it anyway, for his mother stood by him even when his father disowned him and walked out on their broken family. he steps away, allows those fingertips and those gentle eyes to melt away with the colors of the horizon as he turns his back to the world and takes step after step to the front door.

not even having to ring the doorbell does the door fling itself open to a much taller and much more fit kel, locks of brown hair tied back to reveal a half-boyish, half-matured visage. sunny can’t help the grin that splits his pale countenance apart, shifting on one foot, before managing a low “hey, kel,” to receive an embrace that causes him to melt positively. they stay like that for some time, hugging one another (though it’s mainly kel clinging to sunny’s much smaller stature), until a telling voice clears their throat from behind the two boys and they leap apart, flush tainting their cheeks. aubrey stands there, hip cocking out and foot in front of her, as her hand taps incessantly on the hip that’s jutting out with sass. 

“oh, yeah, don’t mind me. keep hugging your boyfriend, kel. not like i’m here, right?” she scoffs, tying her faded pink hair back into a ponytail (and sunny notices, that it isn’t long like it used to be but rather, she’s cut it short to where it tickles the mid of her neck. and he notices, again, as she runs a hand through her hair, that her ears are pierced from bottom to top, chains swinging with each movement). aubrey’s sharp gaze rakes over sunny’s form before she eases up and pulls him in for a tight hug, her arms tensing lightly. “hey. it’s good to see you.” she whispers, emotion making her voice tremble.

they share a smile when aubrey pulls back, taking the gentle smell of white egrets with her when she takes a few steps into kel’s living room. sunny’s eyes glaze over for a bit, realizes _she came back from leaving flowers for mari_ , and feels his throat tighten again. he thinks, briefly, he should go, too, before the night ends. kel’s hand pulls him out of his darkening thoughts, the sun in his gaze breathes life into his cold body, and sunny leans into it, smiling small. and so, he follows them inside.

  
  
  
  
  


sally’s grown to walk on her two legs and is able to speak more words than he last remembered, which is a feat that makes sunny’s chest swell with an odd sense of pride despite the toddler not even being remotely related to him. kel picks her up and spins her around before placing her down on the couch, where the television plays a show meant for babies, then grabs sunny’s wrist to speed walk the two of them up to his shared room with hero. “wait- kel, what about aubrey?” he huffs out, not used to walking so fast (he hasn’t exercised in a while, don’t look at him). the brunet spins on a stair, one away from the second floor, and grins cheekily. sunny doesn’t like that smile, knows mischief is attached to the end of it.

“she’s with my mom.” he pauses. “and she wants to stay with sally until basil arrives.” 

_basil_ , sunny almost wants to breathe out but he cannot. it’s been two years since he last saw basil, two years since they even talked. for their own good, sunny thought they should stay away from each other, for their own mental health, and the rest had agreed. sunny wonders how he is now. kel tugs on his wrist, drags him to his (and hero’s) room before closing the door behind him. sunny notices the falter in the sound, causing him to turn to see kel pressing his back to the door with a flustered look. sunny isn’t so oblivious as he had been when he had been younger, so he smiles at kel, those monotonous eyes softening. 

a step, then another, and sunny’s close to kel, sliding his cold hands into kel’s warm, calloused, and clammy ones. “why are you sweating,” he murmurs, pulling a face of faux disgust, before laughing and stepping on his toes to press a kiss to kel’s lips. the other before him relaxes, one hand slipping out to rest on sunny’s lower back. they stay like that for a bit, innocence dancing in the way they hold one another and kiss, pink blooming on their cheeks as if it’s springtime and all flowers are due for full bloom. when his lungs ache for air, sunny leans away first, hands falling from kel’s neck to those larger hands that promised to protect him, that promised to love him enough so that he wouldn’t be scared anymore. 

“it’s been a while,” kel whispers, a whine on his tongue, a pout jutting out on his lips. “can’t blame me for being nervous.” then he laughs against the crown of sunny’s head, into his soft hair, and presses another kiss there. “i missed you so much. you’ve been doing okay over there?” 

sunny thinks he can never be used to kel’s sweet words, that he definitely picked it up from when hero used to nuzzle mari’s nose and whisper sweet-nothings into her ear which would make her laugh and push at his shoulders. kel does the same now too, when they’re together and their fingers would touch innocently (“i like you,” had been one. “i think i really like you,” had been another. “you’re on my mind always. it sucks that i can’t see you right now,” had been the latest one.). he huffs out a smile, resting his head on kel’s broad shoulder. he missed him too, he missed kel’s comfort on the nights that keep him awake. 

“as okay as i can be. you know i’ve been seeing a therapist, so, it’s been… getting better.” sunny peels himself away from his boyfriend, managing a smile. “my insomnia isn’t so bad anymore and my nightmares stopped the day i told you all in the hospital. sometimes, i have my moments where time stops and… i just can’t think. but it’s lessened now, i think.” kel’s hands now come up to cup sunny’s cheeks, worry swimming in those large eyes of his. sunny almost laughs were it not for kel looking entirely serious. “hey, i’m okay. i’m getting better, i promise.”

for a moment, it’s just them and the sound of the birds chirping outside. kel continues to cup sunny’s cheeks, cradling his face so gently as if he, a porcelain doll, and he could break at any given moment. then he sighs and everything relaxes between them. sunny smiles reassuringly, his own hand cupping over kel’s and returning the kiss that the taller had leaned in for. “okay, i believe you.” then they kiss again and they’re out of kel’s room, hand-in-hand, as they press closely to stride into the living room only for sunny’s breath to catch in his throat.

 _basil_.

“sunny?” he can recognize that soft-spoken tone anywhere. “haha, you really look no different— you got a bit taller but, well, next to kel… you look even smaller.” gentle eyes, sandy-blond hair ruffled up with a singular flower pressed behind an ear. tired voice, tired eyes. sunny wonders if basil’s okay now. they both rid their SOMETHINGs but the lingering side effects could not have been easy to deal with on his own. sunny guilts for basil, wonders if leaving him alone had been the right decision. “s-sunny? is everything, um… okay?” 

“ _sunny_ ,” someone whispers (kel), and squeezes his arm gently. he startles in place and smiles at basil, stepping towards him with a deep exhale. 

there’s a sense of awkwardness between all four of them, a tense line waiting to be snapped apart by one movement but it doesn’t snap, not really. not when basil rushes forth with tears in those tired eyes and throws his arms around sunny’s neck, and especially not when sunny returns the embrace with a shaky inhale. sunny thinks he hears a sniffle in the background, assumes it’s aubrey who cannot keep her emotions in check when she sees her two best friends rejoice in their healing moments. sunny cannot blame her, he feels his nose burn and his eyes water with unshed tears when he looks at basil, again. 

“basil, you… have you been…” sunny doesn’t know how to finish it, doesn’t really _need_ to, when basil fully understands what he’s trying to ask. the other nods with a forlorn smile, a hand ruffling his hair lightly (sunny notices it too, the same thing he did with aubrey: it’s a gleaming black studded into his ear, a piercing of his own). “good,” sunny exhales, dropping his head forward, relief flooding his system. “it’s good to see you alive and well, basil.”

“you- you too, sunny,” basil murmurs, wringing his hands together, shifting his weight from side-to-side. sunny scrutinizes basil for a bit, then looks over his shoulder towards kel with a single glance that he knows his boyfriend would understand. kel hesitates, visibly, then grabs aubrey by her shoulders to push her out into the backyard with a hurrah. when it is just the two of them in kel’s living room, sunny turns back to basil only to startle at the way basil’s eyes pierce through him. “sunny, i- i heard you’re seeing a therapist over there. kel told me, i mean, he told us. he’s been keeping us updated on you, though i guess that’s to be expected and all… considering… you guys are, um, dating.”

basil cannot look sunny in the eye when he says the word like poison’s laced within it, like it’s leaving a horrid taste on his tongue, behind his rows of his perfect teeth. sunny cannot blame basil for the reaction. after all, they haven’t been talking since the hospital two years ago and sunny had basically rejected basil the day he accepted kel’s confession. “yeah, i am,” he replies, simple. “are you? i mean… how are you doing? how’s polly?” 

there’s a pause in the air, a stillness when the topic is now turned towards basil and the fidgeting increases, those eyes darting this way and that. sunny’s fighting the urge to take a step back like he did two years ago in basil’s room, in basil’s bathroom, but he stays put. he doesn’t want to leave basil alone again. “i’m… um, yeah. polly’s looking after me. she’s taking me to sessions and stuff. i was, i don’t know if they told you… but i was in the hospital a lot longer after you left. they didn’t want to release me,” he trails off, voice growing quieter and a tad more ashamed. “just to be safe, they said.” the guilt returns in his gut; of course, they had kept basil for longer. basil had been totally unstable back then and he was a hazard even to himself. sunny doesn’t know what to say to that, wonders why he even asked. “but!” basil looks up, catching sunny’s eye, and he’s smiling now, though it might seem a bit strained. “but, i’ve been working as a distraction from everything, you know? i, um, i work a little out from town- it’s a flower shop and it’s… it’s really nice, sunny. before you go back home, do you think you can come visit? the white tulips… they’re in full bloom. i want to give you one just as— just between friends.”

it doesn’t take a beat for him to even think about it. without hesitation, he nods with a lighter smile and it eases the unsaid, unprovoked tension between the two. 

they don’t have much more time until the door knob begins to twist and the door is pushed open, just as aubrey and kel arrive as well. hero takes one step inside the lively house and is immediately swarmed by two bodies (three, if you count sally), which makes him laugh. he looks way older now, his hair still styled but much shorter and he seems to be growing facial hair, two more piercings joining the one he had from two years ago. sunny and basil stay rooted in their place, awkward tension seeping back to where they stand. 

hero had kept in touch with sunny naturally, though sunny had been sure it was not easy. hero would take weeks to reply back to sunny or would call him once a month, would claim that he’s been busy due to college and looking for jobs or internships so he can’t call as much as he’d like to. sunny would tell him it’s okay but he felt like that wasn’t really the truth. he looks at hero, lips and throat dry, whereas basil excuses himself to the bathroom. even after two years, it just isn’t easy facing the one man who took mari’s death the hardest, especially since he had loved her to the moon and back. 

regardless, hero’s gaze lifts and spots sunny, spots basil’s back, and for a moment, concern flashes in those gentle hues of his before realization dawns upon him. he eases past the squabbling duo and makes his way to sunny, a hand ruffling his black hair up. hero really does look older now, looks mature and tired, just as basil does. _maybe that’s what adulthood does to you_ , sunny wonders. “sunny,” hero breathes out, bringing him in for a hug. it surprises him, visibly so, and he doesn’t hug him back for a few minutes. hero steps back before he can, though, and takes him in, something like vulnerability watering up in his gaze. “you’ve really grown. ah, man, they grow so fast… kel’s told me all about your accomplishments, by the way. i’m so proud of you, i really am.” sunny swallows thickly, warmth spreading throughout his chest as tears prick at his eyes again. hero sounds like mari and maybe, hero knows that. 

“mari would’ve been so proud.” it slips in the moment and hero halts just as those words spill out of his lips, then he laughs gently, avoiding eye contact with sunny. “i mean, i’m sure she would be, right?” sunny nods, then looks at the elder again who’s only staring at sunny’s feet before catching his gaze again. “yeah, i’m sure she would. hey, though, i’ll say it instead now that you’re practically _family_ ,” he smirks a little, glancing at kel, who’s now flushed red and kicking at the back of his brother’s knees. hero wails dramatically, crumbling to the ground as sally wobbles over to him and begins to wail too, causing kel to panic and aubrey to laugh hysterically at the scene, releasing a snort or two. sunny can’t help the smile that inches onto his face. 

sunny’s gaze floats to the staircase just as basil comes down, the blond’s sleeve covering and rubbing over his mouth, the color of his skin a few shades paler. they catch each other’s eye and sunny only smiles, as soft as he can, which successfully helps basil relax. 

  
  
  
  


by the time dinner had been digested and dessert coating their tongues and lips sweetly, their pillow fort had been set up in the living room, which had been previously rather empty before. sunny can only presume that hero, who got up early, and their parents had helped set it all up. 

kel attaches himself to sunny easily, basil’s eyes flickering away, and aubrey rolling her own with a dramatic groan— the reactions he earns make him flush with embarrassment but he allows himself to wrap his lithe and skinny fingers around kel’s thick ones, allows his body to naturally lean against kel’s side. he can feel him beaming, radiating sunlight even in the darkness of night, as they all shuffle into the rather large and decorated pillow fort. kel rambles about how long it had taken him to come up with this idea in particular, because he wanted to make it the best for sunny but also for the rest of his friends. hero coos and attempts to coddle kel, causing him to scoot over so that he’s hiding behind sunny’s smaller body. they share a little laugh together and sunny falls backwards into kel’s chest. 

“i’m really glad you all could make it,” kel begins to say in the midst of the peaceful silence, just as everyone had been filing back from the bathroom— refreshed and changed into pajamas. sunny’s last to come back, wearing one of kel’s larger shirts over a pair of loose shorts, and tasting mint on the mouth. the brunet smiles at him brightly, a hand outstretching itself to sunny to which he takes it naturally, being tugged inside of the fort. “i know this is kind of childish and it— we’re growing older and stuff but… this means a lot to me. and to sunny too, i’m sure!” 

in response to that, sunny nods. kel smiles again, for the nth time this day, but the smiles continue to grow softer, more loving. 

hero reaches over and ruffles kel’s loose hair now, pats sunny’s pale cheek with brotherly affection that makes sunny a bit embarrassed to be on the receiving end of. “it’s nice to see everyone together like this,” he murmurs so softly, gaze a little faraway as he lowers himself to rest on the blanketed ground of the fort. “it reminds me of when you were all kids. it’s nice. i’m happy.”

there’s a little bit of silence after that and the sound of someone’s breathing beginning to even out following soon after. sunny glances at hero, whose eyes are closed now and his visage is relaxed into the sweet lull of sleep. he feels bad for him, feels as if maybe this gathering had brought upon a sense of hardness for the older brother that the other three cannot notice all too well. even so, hero tends to play the responsible card— the sweet, understanding, loving brother to three misfits. 

“we should do this often,” aubrey whispers after a few beats. sunny realizes he’s been staring at hero when he hears her voice, his head swiveling to stare at her, who’s also peering at hero with a brief flash of sadness in the brightness of her eyes. “if we can. just make some time for each other and meet up here.” there’s an unspoken agreement in the air, then she’s shifting in her sleeping bag and falling asleep too. 

that leaves the ones awake— basil, sunny, and kel. 

basil fidgets, awkward, as sunny and kel glance at him then to each other. “s-sorry, i’ll just go to sleep—“ but kel’s faster and reaches out to grasp at basil’s arm gently. it startles the blond, but he pauses in his movements, even causing sunny to peer at his boyfriend with wide eyes. 

“basil,” kel begins, voice low and gentle so as to not wake those who are deep in sleep. “y’know hero doesn’t hate you for what happened.” and sunny exhales through his nose; leave it to kel to bluntly reassure people at the most odd times. basil’s eyes are trembling and wide, they never leave kel’s face only to skirt to where hero rests. “he— he had a hard time after hearing it all. it was hard for him to go back to college when summer ended and he was a mess for a year but he never blamed you or sunny.” kel’s hand leaves basil’s skin, frowning a bit.

sunny knows the words that ache to leave basil’s lips— knows only because he’s always asked them himself: _how are you so sure? why wouldn’t he hate us?_

but rather than kel, sunny is the one that speaks, turning his weight so that he’s facing basil’s half-turned body, ready to flee at any given moment. “it’s not easy to accept but i hope you’ll believe him eventually, basil. hero could have cut us out completely but we’re still here… in his house.” _and i’m dating his brother_ , goes unsaid but equates all the same to his point. “he’s probably still sad, but we have to keep moving on. mari… doesn’t hate us either. she’ll always love us.” 

another stretch of silence before the stringing lights across the roof of the fort casts a gentle glow upon basil’s pale visage, lighting up the comforted smile that curves onto his features, wiping out the last of the unease. “okay,” he whispers, though it’s heavy and thick with grief. sunny doesn’t say more, doesn’t pin his stare to basil any longer, and turns to kel instead, allowing basil the privacy he might need for himself. 

this time, it’s just kel and sunny amongst the collapse of sleeping bodies. kel smiles at sunny fondly, a thumb tracing over the lines of his eyepatch and then down to his cheek, cupping it as he leans forward to kiss him so brazenly. sunny has half the mind to kick him away but the kiss is quick, silent, and impish. 

“thank you for coming,” kel whispers, pulling sunny down onto a singular but large sleeping bag, embracing him from the back so that sunny is engulfed in kel’s arms, warm and inviting. sunny hums in response, allowing kel to trace random shapes and patterns onto his palm. “it really makes me happy to see you here. i know that, maybe, it isn’t so easy but…”

“i didn’t really have a choice, did i?” sunny’s joking now, tilting his head to peer at kel with a mirthful gaze. his boyfriend giggles and pinches his stomach lightly to which sunny promptly swats at kel’s hand with a sharp twitch. “i’m glad i came.” 

they kiss again, as quietly as they can, and kel’s burying his face in the nape of sunny’s neck, pressing a smile to his skin and letting it burn there pleasantly. “i love you,” he whispers, burns those words along with the smile he’s left on sunny’s skin and it causes a quick, rapid flush to prickle at his entire body. sunny stills, then squeezes at kel’s hands in his own tightly. 

he’s never had to think twice about something like this in his life. “i love you too.” and that night, in kel’s arms, surrounded by his best friends, and under the warm glow of those fairy lights, sunny falls in love with the comfort that sleep decides to give him. 


End file.
